PRESS RELEASE
NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN TASK FORCE
1734 14th St., NW, Washington, DC 20009
(202) 332-6483
for immediate release
GAY AND LESBIAN LEADERS ARRESTED AT WHITE HOUSE IN PROTEST AGAINST
MILITARY POLICY
Washington, D.C., July 20, 1993... Gay and lesbian veterans and their
supporters protested today against the President's "don't ask, don't tell,
don't pursue" policy for gay and lesbian service members. Eleven
activists, including gay and lesbian veterans and the leaders of several
national organizations, were arrested outside the White House following a
demonstration involving more than 100 people. Today's domonstration,
sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), was among
dozens of other actions around the country organized to oppose the new
military policy.
Tanya Domi, a former Army captain and current director of the NGLTF
Military Freedom Initiative, participated in civil disobedience for the
first time in her life. Other leaders who were arrested include Tim
McFeeley, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, Rosemary
Dempsey, vice president of the National Organization for Women, and
Maurice Franklin, a former Navy officer and representative of the National
Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum and the Campaign for Military
Service (CMS).
Domi, McFeeley, Dempsey and Franklin led the full contingent in a legal
picket on the sidewalk in front of the White House and denounced the new
military policy as "a re-packaging of the same old discrimination." When
police ordered the crowd to disperse, eleven activists remained on the
sidewalk, chanting "Shame" at the White House and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Won't Work." Police then arrested Domi, McFeeley, Dempsey and Franklin and
the following other activists: Michael Bustamonte, a Vietnam veteran and
officer with the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club; Hasan Shafiqullah,
of the United States Students Association (USSA); Thom Turner, of CMS;
Jason Rigg; Andrew Alexis; Francois de Montequin; and Matt Marcos. They
were all charged with demonstrating without a permit and fined $50 with a
future court date.
"I've played by the rules all my life," Domi said. "I served in the Army
for 15 years and then served in the legislative arena as a policy maker
and lobbyist. But today, it is my duty as a veteran and an advocate
for gay and lesbian people to engage in this act of civil disobedience. I
feel I must demonstrate our commitment to a principle the President failed
to uphold."
"This issue will not go away, and the gay and lesbian movement will not go
away," Domi said. "This capitulation to bigotry will not deter our
struggle for equality and fairness. The 'don't ask, don't tell, don't
pursue' policy is completely unacceptable. We will fight the policy in
the streets, in the courts, and in Congress. We will not end this battle
until we attain justice."
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